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Ride Solo: A Guide To Spending A Day By Yourself In Mumbai

Before you drop the ‘hey, is it even possible’ bomb, we’d like to tell you it is. All everyone talks about is how mad and chaotic Mumbai is, so we decided to turn things around and visit some quiet spots where we could ponder about the complexity {and simplicity} of life. Ah, a day without small talk and technology {we’ll try}.

Raj Bhavan

Start off your day with a visit to Raj Bhavan – the Governer’s home situated atop Malabar Hill. Stretch, do some yoga or just zone out {we do it all the time}.

The great thing about Raj Bhavan – for us introverts – is that people are literally banned from talking too much. It’s a place for silence, yoga, and maybe some table tennis. We advise that you book ahead of time, because they take on very few visitors at a time and are usually fully booked.

Kitab Khana

Kitab Khana is one of our favourite bookstores in the city. It’s huge and has books practically tumbling over our heads. The big plus for this place is that because of its size, it’s very easy for a quiet person with a bookish bent of mind to find a corner to curl up with a book and not be disturbed for ages.

We recommend that you curl up with a hot chocolate at Food For Thought and the new Harry Potter book here.

Hanging Gardens

The Ferozeshah Mehta gardens, also known as the Hanging Gardens, are one of Mumbai’s iconic – and rare – green areas. The gardens are terraced and perched at the top of Malabar Hill. The area is serene and laden with animal-shaped plant installations, which are probably going to be your only company at the gardens.

We love this place for its greenery, how well-maintained it is, and the shady areas that provide a respite from both rain and shine.

Sanjay Gandhi National Park

Dodge Mumbai traffic {for a while} and rent a bicycle at Sanjay Gandhi National Park. Ride through the roads that lead to Kanheri caves and have yourself an adrenaline-filled yet a relaxed day. You can even take the bus if you’re not feeling the biking thing.

The park is again, one of the city’s few but sprawling areas which allow for people to have a quiet moment with their thoughts, yet get some sight-seeing done. We do advise, however, that you not head there too late, or wander off the trails, since some parts of the park are quite secluded and thus unsafe.

Bandra Fort

This spot is a little ‘out there’ but it never fails to surprise. This fort is located opposite Taj Land’s End in Bandra West, so if you keep walking ahead of the posh hotel – and the crowds waiting outside Shahrukh Khan’s house – you’ll find this beautiful and serene spot.

The fort affords a great vantage point to see the waves crashing against Bandstand, as well as of canoodling couples {keep your eyes trained straight, as Mumbai etiquette demands}. This fort is also very close to a lot of eating joints {because Bandra}, so after we’re done snacking, we’ll plug in our earphones and just think about nothing.